Rom. 1:18-23: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man...
Perhaps as in the days of Christ, people are rejecting Him for the same reasons.
1. Deliberate ignorance
John 7:40-43: Some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet." Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him.
This passage suggests that people would not believe that Jesus was the Christ because they did not know the facts concerning His birth. It seems clear though, that those who took the time to check the facts (say, by asking His mother) would have discovered that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem. This kind of ignorance is self-imposed. Rather than lack enough information, these people did not seek out and examine the information that was available. Today there are people who do not have the information they need for an informed decision, even though the bookstores, the Internet, and their own bookshelves are overflowing with enough information and evidence to convince any honest seeker.
2. Pride
John 12:42-43 Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
Pride causes some to seek the approval of those that hold power, position, or popularity. Pride can also be expressed through a fear of losing power, position, or popularity.Pride can be the reason that people think that they don’t need God.
3. Moral Problem
John 3:19-20 And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
Some people reject the evidence because it would mean having to change their behavior.
People tend to reject evidence that does not support a belief system that allows them to continue their present lifestyle, and look for evidence to justify sinful behavior.
Consider the present controversy over the homosexual lifestyle. Scientists are vigorously searching for a physiological cause for homosexuality; for example, a "gay gene" that would relieve people of the personal responsibility for this particular behavior that is clearly defined as sinful in the Bible.
The Bible does not make a distinction between sin that is caused by a physiological characteristic such as the sex drive, and a purely psychological motivation. Temptation occurs for everyone; even Jesus was tempted. Sin is allowing that temptation to rule the will. If I am, for example, an ordinary heterosexual man attracted to my neighbor’s wife, it is every bit as sinful for me to act upon that desire as for one with homosexual desires to act on them. The Bible condemns promiscuity and sexual activity outside of the bounds that God has established, regardless of the motivation.
The Christian has a responsibility to determine his behavior by measuring it against God’s standard of conduct, not by what is natural or convenient.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Heart Exam - Why should we convince people?
Why should we convince people?
Lest we think that the purpose of our examination is to win debates, start arguments, or defend ourselves from ridicule, there is the matter of the heart addressed in the second part of Peter's statement: "...yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."
Conclusions
Web Study Guide: Readings For This Lesson:
Apologetics and the Heart, by Douglas Wilson http://www.visi.com/~contra_m/antithesis/v1n4/ant_v1n4_apologetics.html (changed 12/98)
Millenial Musings, by Cecil Hookhttp://www.egroups.com/group/freedomsring/25.html?
Lest we think that the purpose of our examination is to win debates, start arguments, or defend ourselves from ridicule, there is the matter of the heart addressed in the second part of Peter's statement: "...yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."
Conclusions
- Apologetics is not only the presentation of evidence for Christianity, but it is also the reasoning that brings the Christian to a saving faith in Christ based upon the examination of the evidence.
- The apologist is a defender of faith, and is armed with truth given by the Creator.
- Those that are Christians need to know the reasons and evidence that forms the foundation of their belief - for their own benefit, and especially for the benefit of the lost. We are commanded by God to be prepared for defending our faith.
- Skeptics can study Apologetics to understand the difference between the Christian world view and that of a world without absolute truth and firm morality.
- Skeptics have a justifiable request to provide intelligent, thoughtful and reasonable arguments if we ask them to believe in anything claimed as truth. Someone who denies the spiritual has no other way to grasp the implications of his unbelief except through reason.
- God does not expect us to believe based on blind faith - In fact, he expects us to make our decisions based on evidence. Faith and reason are not mutually exclusive.
Web Study Guide: Readings For This Lesson:
Apologetics and the Heart, by Douglas Wilson http://www.visi.com/~contra_m/antithesis/v1n4/ant_v1n4_apologetics.html (changed 12/98)
Millenial Musings, by Cecil Hookhttp://www.egroups.com/group/freedomsring/25.html?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Christian faith is based on principles of truth.
Does it make a difference what we believe?
John 8:24 "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
Rom. 10:9 "...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; "
Consider John 8:24; Rom. 10:9. Christianity, unlike many other religions, has dire consequences for those that do not choose to have a relationship with the God of the Bible.
Those who are not in Christ cannot please God (Rom. 10:9) So, it is even more critical to have a fair and compelling reason to accept this - the alternative of another any other belief is not an option within Christianity.
Truth is always open to honest examination. If our religion is objective, it must be open to examination, and it must present the same facts and implications to everyone who examines it.
In Acts 2:22, Peter appealed to the crowd to examine what they themselves already knew. In Acts 26:24-26, Paul reminded Agrippa that he "knows these matters" - the evidence of Christ's suffering and resurrection. The Berean Christians searched their (Old Testament) scriptures daily to discern the truth from what they heard (Acts 17:11).
Is there any reason that we cannot use evidence from our own scriptures to find the truth? Why should we ask anyone to accept less than the New Testament church?
Truth is always open to disproof (falsification), also. That is, truth is open to be proven wrong. One test of truth is that it can never be falsified - even one failed test destroys its validity. Many scholars have set about to disprove the Bible - and ended up convinced of its truth.
See John Clayton's Why I left Atheism
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
John 8:24 "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
Rom. 10:9 "...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; "
Consider John 8:24; Rom. 10:9. Christianity, unlike many other religions, has dire consequences for those that do not choose to have a relationship with the God of the Bible.
Those who are not in Christ cannot please God (Rom. 10:9) So, it is even more critical to have a fair and compelling reason to accept this - the alternative of another any other belief is not an option within Christianity.
Truth is always open to honest examination. If our religion is objective, it must be open to examination, and it must present the same facts and implications to everyone who examines it.
In Acts 2:22, Peter appealed to the crowd to examine what they themselves already knew. In Acts 26:24-26, Paul reminded Agrippa that he "knows these matters" - the evidence of Christ's suffering and resurrection. The Berean Christians searched their (Old Testament) scriptures daily to discern the truth from what they heard (Acts 17:11).
Is there any reason that we cannot use evidence from our own scriptures to find the truth? Why should we ask anyone to accept less than the New Testament church?
Truth is always open to disproof (falsification), also. That is, truth is open to be proven wrong. One test of truth is that it can never be falsified - even one failed test destroys its validity. Many scholars have set about to disprove the Bible - and ended up convinced of its truth.
See John Clayton's Why I left Atheism
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Christian faith is Historical and Factual
The Bible is a historical document. We will present later, in Lesson 5, the history of the Bible and the remarkable evidence that we have for its authenticity. For now, consider Luke 2:1-5; 3:1-2.
Luke 2:1-5 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
Luke 3:1,2 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
Notice the appeal to time, places, people and events that actually existed in history. We have many "anchor" points in time and place to give us a viable link to history. Christianity is not just a philosophy, or a religion based on myths and legends. How do we know rationally, though, that the Bible is real, and that we can rely on it as a source of truth? How do we judge which is history and which is fantasy about other works of ancient literature?
In Lesson 5 we will see what tests scientists use for ancient writings that lets us make statements about the dates, authorship and content with confidence. The Bible stands this test of truth better than any other single writing of its antiquity.
The events described in the Bible were real, historical events. The story told by the Bible has a realness, an intrinsic authenticity that makes it and the events it describes a living part of history.
C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest apologists of this century wrote:
Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys' philosophies – these over-simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simple either.
The Christian faith is objective
Josh McDowell (Evidence that Demands a Verdict) says that in order for our faith to be a real faith, it must have an object - something or someone to have faith in. Do we have "faith in faith," or is our faith in something else? Some contemporary faith healers teach that faith is a force, and that words are the containers of the force, and that they can wield the power of the Holy Spirit by speaking these words. Such a teaching is decidedly unbiblical.
Even Simon the sorcerer of Acts 8 was amazed by the real works of the Holy Spirit, and was rebuked for thinking that he could obtain this power by any means other than a gift from a sovereign God.
The Christian faith is a faith in Christ. Our faith is in what He said, what He did, who He was and why He did what He did.
Consider the Biblical "definition of faith" in Heb 11:1 - does this mean that our faith cannot be objective?
Heb 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Luke 2:1-5 Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
Luke 3:1,2 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
Notice the appeal to time, places, people and events that actually existed in history. We have many "anchor" points in time and place to give us a viable link to history. Christianity is not just a philosophy, or a religion based on myths and legends. How do we know rationally, though, that the Bible is real, and that we can rely on it as a source of truth? How do we judge which is history and which is fantasy about other works of ancient literature?
In Lesson 5 we will see what tests scientists use for ancient writings that lets us make statements about the dates, authorship and content with confidence. The Bible stands this test of truth better than any other single writing of its antiquity.
The events described in the Bible were real, historical events. The story told by the Bible has a realness, an intrinsic authenticity that makes it and the events it describes a living part of history.
C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest apologists of this century wrote:
Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys' philosophies – these over-simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simple either.
The Christian faith is objective
Josh McDowell (Evidence that Demands a Verdict) says that in order for our faith to be a real faith, it must have an object - something or someone to have faith in. Do we have "faith in faith," or is our faith in something else? Some contemporary faith healers teach that faith is a force, and that words are the containers of the force, and that they can wield the power of the Holy Spirit by speaking these words. Such a teaching is decidedly unbiblical.
Even Simon the sorcerer of Acts 8 was amazed by the real works of the Holy Spirit, and was rebuked for thinking that he could obtain this power by any means other than a gift from a sovereign God.
The Christian faith is a faith in Christ. Our faith is in what He said, what He did, who He was and why He did what He did.
Consider the Biblical "definition of faith" in Heb 11:1 - does this mean that our faith cannot be objective?
Heb 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Watch the Video
Here's a link to a snipet from a debate between and atheist and Dinesh D'Sousa who recently wrote the book, "What's so great about Christianity". I think you'll like it.
compliments of gsiano for today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vMeAwpTW1I
compliments of gsiano for today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vMeAwpTW1I
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Can we offer 100% proof that God exists, and that the Bible is His Word?
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Lesson: Can we offer 100% proof that God exists, and that the Bible is His Word?
There is almost nothing of which we can be 100% sure (for example, where we were born — we were there, but none of us actually remembers. We have to use the evidence from our birth certificate).
Some philosophers argue that we cannot be sure of even our own existence. This led the philosopher Descartes to conclude that there is only one basis for which to be certain of anything - the fact that I am thinking about existence at all is good evidence of it. His famous conclusion: cogito, ergo sum — I think, therefore I am.
We make 100% commitments every day with less than 100% proof - based on faith and evidence. Preachers often use the example of flying on an airliner. We cannot be 100% certain that we will arrive safely, but most of us are willing to fly anyway. Why? The statistical evidence is convincing to us that we will not crash; air travel is regarded as one of the most safe ways to travel. . God has given us abundant evidence, and expects us to use our heads to evaluate the evidence.
The Christian faith is intelligent and rational.
Christianity appeals to the "mind" as well as to the "heart". God expects us to use our minds (Matt. 22:36-38; John 8:32). We do not have to commit intellectual suicide in order to have faith.
Have you ever felt, as I once did, that you have to check you brain at the door when entering a church? Weakness in your faith may be the result of trying to believe in something that you cannot accept intellectually. If there truly is a God, and if the Bible is His word, then we must be able to accept Him spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Anything less is not giving ourselves completely to God, and He will accept no less. Strong faith requires both the mind and the heart.
"We cannot pander to a man's intellectual arrogance, but we must cater to his intellectual integrity." - Paul Little
It is important that we present reasons why we believe in an intelligent and rational manner.
One of the complaints most often heard by skeptics is that religious people will not or cannot present a rational, logical reason for believing what they do.
Does God require blind, unquestioning faith, beyond the reach of reason? The Bible presents quite the opposite picture of God — He answers Job's questions with kind but firm assertions, presents Gideon with the sign that he asks for, and appears to the Apostle Thomas with unequivocal evidence of His resurrection.
As Christians, we have to accept that there is a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and who intervenes in history and in the lives of men. The Bible is full of stories of the Creator of the Universe intervening and interacting with His people, sometimes in miraculous ways - and we can expect him to intervene in our lives, too.
Can we expect God to interact with us the same way that He did for Job, Gideon, or Thomas? No, we don't normally see miraculous things today; miracles were not an everyday occurrence in Bible times either. But do we really want or need miraculous signs?
Lesson: Can we offer 100% proof that God exists, and that the Bible is His Word?
There is almost nothing of which we can be 100% sure (for example, where we were born — we were there, but none of us actually remembers. We have to use the evidence from our birth certificate).
Some philosophers argue that we cannot be sure of even our own existence. This led the philosopher Descartes to conclude that there is only one basis for which to be certain of anything - the fact that I am thinking about existence at all is good evidence of it. His famous conclusion: cogito, ergo sum — I think, therefore I am.
We make 100% commitments every day with less than 100% proof - based on faith and evidence. Preachers often use the example of flying on an airliner. We cannot be 100% certain that we will arrive safely, but most of us are willing to fly anyway. Why? The statistical evidence is convincing to us that we will not crash; air travel is regarded as one of the most safe ways to travel. . God has given us abundant evidence, and expects us to use our heads to evaluate the evidence.
The Christian faith is intelligent and rational.
Christianity appeals to the "mind" as well as to the "heart". God expects us to use our minds (Matt. 22:36-38; John 8:32). We do not have to commit intellectual suicide in order to have faith.
Have you ever felt, as I once did, that you have to check you brain at the door when entering a church? Weakness in your faith may be the result of trying to believe in something that you cannot accept intellectually. If there truly is a God, and if the Bible is His word, then we must be able to accept Him spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Anything less is not giving ourselves completely to God, and He will accept no less. Strong faith requires both the mind and the heart.
"We cannot pander to a man's intellectual arrogance, but we must cater to his intellectual integrity." - Paul Little
It is important that we present reasons why we believe in an intelligent and rational manner.
One of the complaints most often heard by skeptics is that religious people will not or cannot present a rational, logical reason for believing what they do.
Does God require blind, unquestioning faith, beyond the reach of reason? The Bible presents quite the opposite picture of God — He answers Job's questions with kind but firm assertions, presents Gideon with the sign that he asks for, and appears to the Apostle Thomas with unequivocal evidence of His resurrection.
As Christians, we have to accept that there is a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and who intervenes in history and in the lives of men. The Bible is full of stories of the Creator of the Universe intervening and interacting with His people, sometimes in miraculous ways - and we can expect him to intervene in our lives, too.
Can we expect God to interact with us the same way that He did for Job, Gideon, or Thomas? No, we don't normally see miraculous things today; miracles were not an everyday occurrence in Bible times either. But do we really want or need miraculous signs?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
What else should I know about Christian Apologetics?
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Lesson
Evidence is the basis of our faith
Rom 1:22 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
Skeptics accuse Christians of presenting their faith subjectively - that is, from personal experience, without any kind of objective authority. The individual is the only authority of his/her own experiences. While many believers easily accept testimony of personal experience, we cannot expect an honest unbeliever to accept religious truth based only on our own subjective authority. Christianity must offer objective evidence to anyone who is willing to examine it.
Fortunately, evidence for Christianity is readily available for those who question. Does God ask us to believe without evidence in order to have faith? Consider Exod. 4:1-5 , 19:9, Isa. 41:17-20, John 11:15,42, and John 13:19, 14:29.
In a sense, the word "defense" is a better choice than "witness", the religious word used often for presenting God's plan to unbelievers. We cannot be a witness to anything for which there is no evidence. It is a very important part of this course to know that God honors us with free will, and because of this, He does not miraculously appear to each of us and whack us over the head with a 2x4 to announce Himself. We are not puppets, and the Bible demonstrates convincingly that God wants us to choose Him.
We must be given a basis for making that choice, and God gives us what we need as evidence. God gave Moses the rod that turned into a serpent, when Moses asked about what he could do if the people didn't believe him (Ex. 4:1). However, it was God that provided the evidence, not Moses.
No one can "prove" that God exists using the scientific method that we learn about in school. By His very nature, God cannot be observed like a star through a telescope, interviewed like a celebrity, or subjected to tests like a rat in a maze. God, as Creator of the universe, cannot be part of it, and is not subject to the laws of physics He established, unless He chooses to do so.
Fortunately for us, God chose to do this very thing, two millennia ago in the Person of Jesus Christ. We can learn what can be known, and all that is necessary to know, by the record of Jesus given to us in the Bible:
1 Pet. 2:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
"True religion deals with abstract and mystical concepts having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence. Yet that does not mean that our religion is based upon intuition, insight, or similar subjective experience. True religion is based upon faith which is the acceptance of physical, historical, and Biblical evidences both internal and external that are short of literal proof. This takes it out of the realm of the fanciful, the imaginary, the anecdotal, the baseless." (emphasis mine)
Cecil Hook, Millennial Musings, Freedom's Ring Newsletter, Jan. 2000
Lesson
Evidence is the basis of our faith
Rom 1:22 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
Skeptics accuse Christians of presenting their faith subjectively - that is, from personal experience, without any kind of objective authority. The individual is the only authority of his/her own experiences. While many believers easily accept testimony of personal experience, we cannot expect an honest unbeliever to accept religious truth based only on our own subjective authority. Christianity must offer objective evidence to anyone who is willing to examine it.
Fortunately, evidence for Christianity is readily available for those who question. Does God ask us to believe without evidence in order to have faith? Consider Exod. 4:1-5 , 19:9, Isa. 41:17-20, John 11:15,42, and John 13:19, 14:29.
In a sense, the word "defense" is a better choice than "witness", the religious word used often for presenting God's plan to unbelievers. We cannot be a witness to anything for which there is no evidence. It is a very important part of this course to know that God honors us with free will, and because of this, He does not miraculously appear to each of us and whack us over the head with a 2x4 to announce Himself. We are not puppets, and the Bible demonstrates convincingly that God wants us to choose Him.
We must be given a basis for making that choice, and God gives us what we need as evidence. God gave Moses the rod that turned into a serpent, when Moses asked about what he could do if the people didn't believe him (Ex. 4:1). However, it was God that provided the evidence, not Moses.
No one can "prove" that God exists using the scientific method that we learn about in school. By His very nature, God cannot be observed like a star through a telescope, interviewed like a celebrity, or subjected to tests like a rat in a maze. God, as Creator of the universe, cannot be part of it, and is not subject to the laws of physics He established, unless He chooses to do so.
Fortunately for us, God chose to do this very thing, two millennia ago in the Person of Jesus Christ. We can learn what can be known, and all that is necessary to know, by the record of Jesus given to us in the Bible:
1 Pet. 2:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
"True religion deals with abstract and mystical concepts having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence. Yet that does not mean that our religion is based upon intuition, insight, or similar subjective experience. True religion is based upon faith which is the acceptance of physical, historical, and Biblical evidences both internal and external that are short of literal proof. This takes it out of the realm of the fanciful, the imaginary, the anecdotal, the baseless." (emphasis mine)
Cecil Hook, Millennial Musings, Freedom's Ring Newsletter, Jan. 2000
Monday, March 17, 2008
Why do Skeptics need Apologetics?
I am going to add scripture memory to our study. The first one is a small, but arguably one of the most important passages in the bible, Philippians 2:1-11. I plan on slowly adding on week by week until we have the whole passage memorized.
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Lesson
Why do Skeptics need Apologetics?
Modern education and government stress scientific methods and practical ideas to the detriment of society and at the expense of truth.
Today there is an implicit exclusion of religious ideas in education, media, and government that undermines the value systems that help shape a moral society. We live in a relativistic society, where morality is situation-based, and truth is a matter of opinion. These influences combine to create a relativist philosophy in people, void of absolutes, where they are lost without a moral compass on earth, and without the salvation of Christ for eternity. We must not feel contempt for such people, but instead have a desperate compassion, as for a loved one deceived by a crafty enemy, desiring his destruction:
2 Cor. 4:4 "...in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
World View
What you think about God affects your world view, and your world view influences what you think about God. Your world view is the way that you approach an idea - the way that you perceive the world that you inhabit and the rules by which it operates. Your world view thus becomes the guide for your life.
Without a strong, morality-based world view, a person can drift into destructive selfishness and seek a philosophy that serves to rationalize immoral behavior. Christianity serves as a moral compass that works — everyone needs the bearings.
Link: Probe Ministries Article on World Views
Informed Decisions
Honest, thinking people need to have the facts they need to satisfy their desire to make an informed decision about God.
Perhaps most of the people in the world that believe in (g)God(s) cannot tell you why they believe in rational terms. Why should a reasonable person believe in God, let alone Christianity, if no true believer can present a cogent argument for that belief? We should not be so naive to think that God is obvious to everyone, even those who seek.
God has appointed us as vessels of His message. He has no other plan.
2 Cor. 4:5-7 "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves..."
World Views
An excerpt from the referenced article by Jerry Solomon from the Probe Ministries web site:
"...[returning to] a definition we affirmed in the beginning of this article: 'A world view provides a model of the world which guides its adherents in the world.' If your model of the world includes an infinite-personal God, as in Christian Theism, that belief should provide guidance for your life. If your model rejects God, as in Naturalism, again such a belief serves as a guide. Or if your model asserts that you are god, as in New Age Pantheism, yet again your life is being guided by such a conception. These examples should remind us that we are living in a culture that puts us in touch constantly with such ideas, and many more. They cannot all be true."
Scripture Memory - Philippians 2:1-2 - 1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Lesson
Why do Skeptics need Apologetics?
Modern education and government stress scientific methods and practical ideas to the detriment of society and at the expense of truth.
Today there is an implicit exclusion of religious ideas in education, media, and government that undermines the value systems that help shape a moral society. We live in a relativistic society, where morality is situation-based, and truth is a matter of opinion. These influences combine to create a relativist philosophy in people, void of absolutes, where they are lost without a moral compass on earth, and without the salvation of Christ for eternity. We must not feel contempt for such people, but instead have a desperate compassion, as for a loved one deceived by a crafty enemy, desiring his destruction:
2 Cor. 4:4 "...in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
World View
What you think about God affects your world view, and your world view influences what you think about God. Your world view is the way that you approach an idea - the way that you perceive the world that you inhabit and the rules by which it operates. Your world view thus becomes the guide for your life.
Without a strong, morality-based world view, a person can drift into destructive selfishness and seek a philosophy that serves to rationalize immoral behavior. Christianity serves as a moral compass that works — everyone needs the bearings.
Link: Probe Ministries Article on World Views
Informed Decisions
Honest, thinking people need to have the facts they need to satisfy their desire to make an informed decision about God.
Perhaps most of the people in the world that believe in (g)God(s) cannot tell you why they believe in rational terms. Why should a reasonable person believe in God, let alone Christianity, if no true believer can present a cogent argument for that belief? We should not be so naive to think that God is obvious to everyone, even those who seek.
God has appointed us as vessels of His message. He has no other plan.
2 Cor. 4:5-7 "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves..."
World Views
An excerpt from the referenced article by Jerry Solomon from the Probe Ministries web site:
"...[returning to] a definition we affirmed in the beginning of this article: 'A world view provides a model of the world which guides its adherents in the world.' If your model of the world includes an infinite-personal God, as in Christian Theism, that belief should provide guidance for your life. If your model rejects God, as in Naturalism, again such a belief serves as a guide. Or if your model asserts that you are god, as in New Age Pantheism, yet again your life is being guided by such a conception. These examples should remind us that we are living in a culture that puts us in touch constantly with such ideas, and many more. They cannot all be true."
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Gaining knowledge - sharing our faith with others
"I have studied the Bible and I know what God has to say. My faith is strong and my salvation is assured. What else is needed?"
We must be equipped to share our faith with the lost of this world while there is still time.
What are the reasons that people give for not giving their lives to Christ? Is it likely that others will be convinced of God's truth simply by observing your faith?
Perhaps you did not need to reason out your faith. Maybe you were raised in a Christian home with a strong family and have seldom doubted the truth of the Bible. What about those without your advantages? What about those who need strong, rational support for such a life-changing decision?
I have no doubt that there are sincere unbelievers that are simply waiting for someone to offer them a good reason to follow Christ, and perhaps some evidence to support that decision. Are you ready to present it?
Paul defended his faith. All Christians are commanded to be ready to give an answer, or "defense," for the reason of their hope in Christ:
Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you..."
The word here for "defense" is apologia, meaning "a speech in defense of what one has done, or of truth which one believes."
The formal use of this word is used by Paul in Acts 22, "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you..." and in 1 Cor. 9:3: "My defense to those who examine me."
The Bible commands us to defend our faith
1 Pet. 3:15 "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence..."
Apologetics implies a reason. Peter uses the word defense (apologia) in 1 Pet. 3:15 like advice from a lawyer in responding to an accusation from the court: "Why are you a Christian?" You may have heard the preacher's phrase "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would you be convicted?" In this case, the meaning can be "If you were on trial for not being a Christian, could you prove that you were?"
Link - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p3.htm
We must be equipped to share our faith with the lost of this world while there is still time.
What are the reasons that people give for not giving their lives to Christ? Is it likely that others will be convinced of God's truth simply by observing your faith?
Perhaps you did not need to reason out your faith. Maybe you were raised in a Christian home with a strong family and have seldom doubted the truth of the Bible. What about those without your advantages? What about those who need strong, rational support for such a life-changing decision?
I have no doubt that there are sincere unbelievers that are simply waiting for someone to offer them a good reason to follow Christ, and perhaps some evidence to support that decision. Are you ready to present it?
Paul defended his faith. All Christians are commanded to be ready to give an answer, or "defense," for the reason of their hope in Christ:
Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you..."
The word here for "defense" is apologia, meaning "a speech in defense of what one has done, or of truth which one believes."
The formal use of this word is used by Paul in Acts 22, "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you..." and in 1 Cor. 9:3: "My defense to those who examine me."
The Bible commands us to defend our faith
1 Pet. 3:15 "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence..."
Apologetics implies a reason. Peter uses the word defense (apologia) in 1 Pet. 3:15 like advice from a lawyer in responding to an accusation from the court: "Why are you a Christian?" You may have heard the preacher's phrase "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would you be convicted?" In this case, the meaning can be "If you were on trial for not being a Christian, could you prove that you were?"
Link - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p3.htm
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A little more
On the other hand, many evangelical churches of today have done equal damage to the historic Christian faith and to Christians themselves by sensationalizing, emotionalizing and commercializing worship and faith. The faith-healers, modern revivalists, and "televangelists" have eroded the intellectual foundation of the Christian faith and substituted doctrines of health, wealth, prosperity, entertainment, and even occult practices for the work of Jesus Christ within the hearts and minds of people.
Hank Hanegraaff, host of the popular radio program Bible Answer Man, writes in his book Counterfeit Revival:
God expects us to use reason (Isa. 1:18; 1 Pet. 3:15; Matt. 22:36-37). God is a rational being, and He created us as rational beings. Why would the God who created our unique ability to think expect us to suddenly abandon this gift when considering Him?
Defense of our Faith
"I will be able to get any answers that I need when I get to Heaven."
We must find a basis for being 100% committed to Christ now - there is no other alternative. The Bible warns us that assent is not enough; there is no middle ground between absolute commitment and rejection:
Matt. 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters."
Rev. 3:16 "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."
C. S. Lewis writes in The Weight of Glory, p. 50.
"To be ignorant and simple now – not to be able to meet the enemies on their ground – would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."
Link - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p2.htm
Hank Hanegraaff, host of the popular radio program Bible Answer Man, writes in his book Counterfeit Revival:
- ...John the Apostle warns, "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).
- This warning is particularly relevant today, as Christianity is undergoing a paradigm shift of major proportions — a shift from faith to feelings, from fact to fantasy, and from reason to esoteric revelation. This paradigm shift is what I call the Counterfeit Revival.
- Prophets of the Counterfeit Revival claim that the entire Christian community is going to be polarized by a bloody civil war. On one side will be those who embrace new revelations. On the other will be those who obstinately cling to reason. One "prophet" went so far as to say: "God is going to renovate the entire understanding of what Christianity is in the nations of the Earth.... In twenty years there will be a totally different understanding of Christianity as we know it."'
- Some of the most recognizable names in the Christian community are endorsing this paradigm shift with little or no reservation. The appeal is so staggering that churches on every continent are now inviting their people to "experience" God in a brand-new way. It is now estimated that seven thousand churches in England alone have embraced the Counterfeit Revival. And with each passing day the numbers are escalating dramatically.
- Sardonic laughter, spasmodic jerks, signs and wonders, super apostles and prophets, and people being "slain in the spirit" are pointed to as empirical evidence of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The form and function of the church is being so radically rearranged that even the secular world has taken note.
God expects us to use reason (Isa. 1:18; 1 Pet. 3:15; Matt. 22:36-37). God is a rational being, and He created us as rational beings. Why would the God who created our unique ability to think expect us to suddenly abandon this gift when considering Him?
Defense of our Faith
"I will be able to get any answers that I need when I get to Heaven."
We must find a basis for being 100% committed to Christ now - there is no other alternative. The Bible warns us that assent is not enough; there is no middle ground between absolute commitment and rejection:
Matt. 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters."
Rev. 3:16 "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."
C. S. Lewis writes in The Weight of Glory, p. 50.
"To be ignorant and simple now – not to be able to meet the enemies on their ground – would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."
Link - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p2.htm
Defense of our faith
For review - http://thesounding.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-apologetics-track-2.html
and - http://thesounding.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-apologetics-cont_28.html
Doesn't the Church today do a good job of teaching people about God?
On one hand, many churches and leaders have given up on Jesus as a person and as God. The "search for the historical Jesus" is an example of how far things have gone with religious people that have sold out to a materialistic world view.
It is sufficiently worrisome to note that many churches are "liberalizing" the story presented in the Bible by dismissing most of the Bible's details as myths, gutting the heart from God's message.
John Crossan (author of The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, HarperCollins, 1991) is a member of the Jesus Seminar, a "scholarly" endeavor by a group of theologians who decided, by voting with colored marbles in a hat, how much of what Jesus might actually have said is contained in the Bible. At the front of the book are printed the sum total of those things that Jesus might have said, or probably said — on all of only 13 pages.
A major new work of scholarship is raising eyebrows in many quarters: The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? (Macmillan, 1993)[1] This is the product of six years of extensive consultation by a group of scholars known as the Jesus Seminar (hereafter JS), who have set out to determine the authentic words of Jesus.
The result is a book that (1) provides a fresh, colloquial, and at times racy translation of the five gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the noncanonical Gospel of Thomas); (2) colors every saying attributed to Jesus in these Gospels as either red, pink, gray, or black (red means Jesus said it; pink means it's close to what He said; gray means He didn't say it in this form but there are echoes of His teaching in it; and black means the saying didn't come from Him at all); and (3) provides passage-by-passage commentary explaining the JS's rationale for its decisions.
As the book jacket and popular press releases emphasize, only 20 percent of all the sayings of Jesus are colored red or pink and a good number of these come from Thomas! (CRI Journal, "The Seventy-Four 'Scholars': Who Does the Jesus Seminar Really Speak For? " November 10, 1994.)
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p2.htm
and - http://thesounding.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-apologetics-cont_28.html
Doesn't the Church today do a good job of teaching people about God?
On one hand, many churches and leaders have given up on Jesus as a person and as God. The "search for the historical Jesus" is an example of how far things have gone with religious people that have sold out to a materialistic world view.
It is sufficiently worrisome to note that many churches are "liberalizing" the story presented in the Bible by dismissing most of the Bible's details as myths, gutting the heart from God's message.
John Crossan (author of The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, HarperCollins, 1991) is a member of the Jesus Seminar, a "scholarly" endeavor by a group of theologians who decided, by voting with colored marbles in a hat, how much of what Jesus might actually have said is contained in the Bible. At the front of the book are printed the sum total of those things that Jesus might have said, or probably said — on all of only 13 pages.
A major new work of scholarship is raising eyebrows in many quarters: The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? (Macmillan, 1993)[1] This is the product of six years of extensive consultation by a group of scholars known as the Jesus Seminar (hereafter JS), who have set out to determine the authentic words of Jesus.
The result is a book that (1) provides a fresh, colloquial, and at times racy translation of the five gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the noncanonical Gospel of Thomas); (2) colors every saying attributed to Jesus in these Gospels as either red, pink, gray, or black (red means Jesus said it; pink means it's close to what He said; gray means He didn't say it in this form but there are echoes of His teaching in it; and black means the saying didn't come from Him at all); and (3) provides passage-by-passage commentary explaining the JS's rationale for its decisions.
As the book jacket and popular press releases emphasize, only 20 percent of all the sayings of Jesus are colored red or pink and a good number of these come from Thomas! (CRI Journal, "The Seventy-Four 'Scholars': Who Does the Jesus Seminar Really Speak For? " November 10, 1994.)
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec1p2.htm
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Introduction
If we are going to find God (or, allow Him to make Himself known to us), can reason alone give us the means to know God?
Last week we looked at many of the ways that men have looked into the case for and against belief in God (or gods). We learned that the philosopher uses logic and reason to find truth, and that if God exists, that this truth is capable of being comprehended by man in a reasonable way, and that we can use some of the tools of philosophy to discuss the existence of God with each other.
The Christian God we are claiming as the author of our Faith was necessarily capable of speaking all that we can know and perceive into existence. The Bible defines Him as all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good, all-just, everlasting, and ever-present.
Such extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence - is it enough to simply conclude through reason that God must be, or are there more ways to find the truth about Him?
As we continue our study this week, I will be presenting a closer look at the case for theism, and specifically for the existence of the Christian God of the Bible.
Goals
Goal 1: To understand the case for theism, and arguments that might reveal a Christian God
Goal 2: To find out if belief in God is reasonable
Our study will examine the case for theism in depth, although not because it is more difficult or problematic. As Christians, we may have come by our knowledge of God and faith in Him in different ways. When we tell others about the God we know, it is important to be able to communicate both the reasons for our own beliefs and to recognize the beliefs of others.
God has provided many paths to knowledge for those who have found Him and want to learn more about Him, but these paths always merge into a single road to salvation - belief in Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, we cannot show the way to salvation to someone who does not believe that there is a God who could have a son named Jesus, who could be written about in a book called the Bible. For some people, belief in God has never seemed to be a reasonable thing.
Is belief in the God of the Bible reasonable? Perhaps the skeptic's doubt has not been addressed simply because no one has been able to present a cogent case for God's existence. This study indends to do just that.
"If it is to be established that there is a God, then we have to have good grounds for believing that this is indeed so. Until and unless some such grounds are produced we have literally no reason at all for believing; and in that situation the only reasonable posture must be that of either the negative atheist or the agnostic. So the onus of proof has to rest on the proposition [of theism]."
Antony Flew, "The Presumption of Atheism", God, Freedom, and Immortality, (Buffalo, N.Y., Prometheus Books, 1984), p. 22
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec4p1.htm
If we are going to find God (or, allow Him to make Himself known to us), can reason alone give us the means to know God?
Last week we looked at many of the ways that men have looked into the case for and against belief in God (or gods). We learned that the philosopher uses logic and reason to find truth, and that if God exists, that this truth is capable of being comprehended by man in a reasonable way, and that we can use some of the tools of philosophy to discuss the existence of God with each other.
The Christian God we are claiming as the author of our Faith was necessarily capable of speaking all that we can know and perceive into existence. The Bible defines Him as all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good, all-just, everlasting, and ever-present.
Such extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence - is it enough to simply conclude through reason that God must be, or are there more ways to find the truth about Him?
As we continue our study this week, I will be presenting a closer look at the case for theism, and specifically for the existence of the Christian God of the Bible.
Goals
Goal 1: To understand the case for theism, and arguments that might reveal a Christian God
Goal 2: To find out if belief in God is reasonable
Our study will examine the case for theism in depth, although not because it is more difficult or problematic. As Christians, we may have come by our knowledge of God and faith in Him in different ways. When we tell others about the God we know, it is important to be able to communicate both the reasons for our own beliefs and to recognize the beliefs of others.
God has provided many paths to knowledge for those who have found Him and want to learn more about Him, but these paths always merge into a single road to salvation - belief in Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, we cannot show the way to salvation to someone who does not believe that there is a God who could have a son named Jesus, who could be written about in a book called the Bible. For some people, belief in God has never seemed to be a reasonable thing.
Is belief in the God of the Bible reasonable? Perhaps the skeptic's doubt has not been addressed simply because no one has been able to present a cogent case for God's existence. This study indends to do just that.
"If it is to be established that there is a God, then we have to have good grounds for believing that this is indeed so. Until and unless some such grounds are produced we have literally no reason at all for believing; and in that situation the only reasonable posture must be that of either the negative atheist or the agnostic. So the onus of proof has to rest on the proposition [of theism]."
Antony Flew, "The Presumption of Atheism", God, Freedom, and Immortality, (Buffalo, N.Y., Prometheus Books, 1984), p. 22
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec4p1.htm
Monday, March 10, 2008
PHILOSOPHY OF THEISM AND WORLD VIEWS cont.
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec3p1.htm
World Views
When we discuss religious ideas, we frequently create misunderstandings, because we start with different assumptions about the nature of the world and how it works. These assumptions make up our world view.
For example, our God is by definition, a supernatural being. If a person, because of their world view, denies that anything supernatural can exist, then we can make no further progress until we can show, through reason, that a world view that includes the supernatural is the correct one.
When defending our beliefs we must be aware of both our own world view and the world views of those we are communicating with. The need to establish a mutual understanding by defining terms and clarifying the standpoint from which our arguments are offered is critical to developing an effective apologetic.
For more discussion on world views, see the article World Views by Jerry Solomon of Probe Ministries.
"If we were to base our arguments upon theories or logical constructs that were tentative to poorly supported it would be one thing. To fail to use a tool or method that God has given us to help our fellow man understand what proof there is that God is real and that the Bible is His Word would be the ultimate disaster."
John N. Clayton, The Source - Eternal design or Infinite Accident, 1983, p. 12.
Goals
World Views
When we discuss religious ideas, we frequently create misunderstandings, because we start with different assumptions about the nature of the world and how it works. These assumptions make up our world view.
For example, our God is by definition, a supernatural being. If a person, because of their world view, denies that anything supernatural can exist, then we can make no further progress until we can show, through reason, that a world view that includes the supernatural is the correct one.
When defending our beliefs we must be aware of both our own world view and the world views of those we are communicating with. The need to establish a mutual understanding by defining terms and clarifying the standpoint from which our arguments are offered is critical to developing an effective apologetic.
For more discussion on world views, see the article World Views by Jerry Solomon of Probe Ministries.
"If we were to base our arguments upon theories or logical constructs that were tentative to poorly supported it would be one thing. To fail to use a tool or method that God has given us to help our fellow man understand what proof there is that God is real and that the Bible is His Word would be the ultimate disaster."
John N. Clayton, The Source - Eternal design or Infinite Accident, 1983, p. 12.
Goals
- Goal 1: To acquire a (very) basic background that will help us understand how philosophy works, and how it can be used to discover truth.
- Goal 2: To demonstrate the use philosophy as we consider arguments for and against the existence of God.
- Goal 3: To understand the importance of a world view
Friday, March 07, 2008
PHILOSOPHY OF THEISM AND WORLD VIEWS
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec3p1.htm
Christian Philosophy – The Intellectual Foundation
This lesson focuses on the intellectual foundation of our belief - Christian Philosophy. Philosophy is the intellectual pursuit of truth and wisdom. Christian philosophy is the intellectual pursuit of God, His truth and His wisdom.
In this part of our study of Apologetics, we will create a philosophical basis for our beliefs about the nature and existence God. We will define some terms, and consider tests for truth developed by thinkers and philosophers throughout history.
Last lesson we asked the question, "Why do you believe (or not believe) in God?" If our answer does not reveal an adequate foundation for our belief, we can't hope to reach someone with the truth, and our own faith may be in danger. Everything we live for (and perhaps the eternal destiny of many others) depends on the strength of the foundation upon which we build our beliefs.
What kind of foundation is required? Is religious experience enough? Is faith enough? Is intellectual assent enough? How can an honest person overlook a problem in any of these important aspects?
Religious claims make no sense to someone who has no religious experience or spiritual conviction. A skeptic usually denies the validity of religious experiences simply because they are subjective. It is unwise and unfair to claim a "private spiritual knowledge" in support of our claims, indeed, that was the sin of the Gnostics.
Often religious truth can only be discussed with a skeptic through an appeal to reason. If belief in our God is reasonable, we should be able to establish our basis or that belief intellectually, without conflicts in logic. Spiritual truth is still truth. Truth, by definition, has to be true for everyone.
I believe that God does not expect anyone to find truth by believing with "blind faith," nor on the basis of a subjective experience alone, nor from an intellectual argument alone. All of these are important in affirming our faith and belief.
God expects us as Christians to give him all of ourselves – spirit, mind and body. Our faith is built upon a spiritual foundation, affirmed through reason and confirmed by our experiences. Our defense (apologetic) must be strong spiritually, intellectually and practically.
Christian Philosophy – The Intellectual Foundation
This lesson focuses on the intellectual foundation of our belief - Christian Philosophy. Philosophy is the intellectual pursuit of truth and wisdom. Christian philosophy is the intellectual pursuit of God, His truth and His wisdom.
In this part of our study of Apologetics, we will create a philosophical basis for our beliefs about the nature and existence God. We will define some terms, and consider tests for truth developed by thinkers and philosophers throughout history.
Last lesson we asked the question, "Why do you believe (or not believe) in God?" If our answer does not reveal an adequate foundation for our belief, we can't hope to reach someone with the truth, and our own faith may be in danger. Everything we live for (and perhaps the eternal destiny of many others) depends on the strength of the foundation upon which we build our beliefs.
What kind of foundation is required? Is religious experience enough? Is faith enough? Is intellectual assent enough? How can an honest person overlook a problem in any of these important aspects?
Religious claims make no sense to someone who has no religious experience or spiritual conviction. A skeptic usually denies the validity of religious experiences simply because they are subjective. It is unwise and unfair to claim a "private spiritual knowledge" in support of our claims, indeed, that was the sin of the Gnostics.
Often religious truth can only be discussed with a skeptic through an appeal to reason. If belief in our God is reasonable, we should be able to establish our basis or that belief intellectually, without conflicts in logic. Spiritual truth is still truth. Truth, by definition, has to be true for everyone.
I believe that God does not expect anyone to find truth by believing with "blind faith," nor on the basis of a subjective experience alone, nor from an intellectual argument alone. All of these are important in affirming our faith and belief.
God expects us as Christians to give him all of ourselves – spirit, mind and body. Our faith is built upon a spiritual foundation, affirmed through reason and confirmed by our experiences. Our defense (apologetic) must be strong spiritually, intellectually and practically.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Belief and Unbelief cont. 2
A link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec2p1.htm
How skeptics explain people’s beliefs in God
- Man invented God (and religion) to explain things that he didn’t understand.
- People are gullible and superstitious, and are easily deceived by lies or misinformation.
- They are ignorant of scientific facts and have never investigated the evidence.
- Their beliefs are based on irrational and illogical ideas.
- Religious people have a need for comfort in the face of fear of the unknown that overrides their ability to reason.
- They are "projecting" wishful thinking.
- They want to impose their values on others for selfish reasons; control, money, power, etc.
- A good God would not send honest unbelievers to eternal punishment who based their beliefs on evidence.
- Modern man has evidence that contradicts what theists (and the Bible) claim about God.
- A good God could not allow evil to exist in the world.
- Free will is impossible if God is omniscient and omnipotent.
- Religious claims require scientific proof.
- If God existed He would not refuse to communicate directly with anyone who asked Him to as a basis for belief.
- The Bible contradicts itself and is not a historical document, so cannot be communication from a perfect being.
Even though we can ask seemingly simple, fundamental questions about beliefs, we cannot fully understand the implications of the answers we get until we understand the context – the nature of the God that people believe in, their definition of truth, the importance of reason and consistency when making statements about belief.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Belief and Unbelief cont.
Link to the source - http://home.houston.rr.com/apologia/sec2p1.htm
However:
62% of all Americans agree that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.
A majority of born again Christians (52%) deny Satan's existence
Nearly three-quarters of Catholics say the devil is nonexistent (72%)
Women are more likely than men to reject Satan's existence (64% vs. 59%)
So, then, this implies that we need to define people's concept of God.
Concepts of God
This survey is from the book Virtual America, by George Barna:
What can we suppose about the reasons that people have for their belief systems? Can the skeptics claims be true?
Atheists have determined that faith is simply belief without evidence. Skeptics claim that what Christians believe has very little to do with reason - since beliefs can be wrong, belief is potentially dangerous– they "are generated by the belief engine without any automatic concern for truth."
Link: http://www.csicop.org/si/9505/belief.html
However:
62% of all Americans agree that Satan is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.
A majority of born again Christians (52%) deny Satan's existence
Nearly three-quarters of Catholics say the devil is nonexistent (72%)
Women are more likely than men to reject Satan's existence (64% vs. 59%)
So, then, this implies that we need to define people's concept of God.
Concepts of God
This survey is from the book Virtual America, by George Barna:
The majority, again, believe in a God like the Christian God of the Bible. So, one might think, how does that influence behavior, if Americans really believe this?
Another survey by the Barna Research Group found that:
- 87% claim their religious faith is very important in their life.
- 83% claim their religious beliefs change their behavior (4 out of 5).
But the same study showed that:
- 58% agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches.
- 53% contend that if a person is good enough, or does enough good things for other people, they will earn their way into Heaven. (One-third of all born again Christians (34%) accept this notion.)
- 40% believe that when Jesus was on earth He committed sins. (28% of born again Christians believe this.)
- 39% say that Jesus Christ was crucified, but He never had a physical resurrection.
- 46% believe churches should accept gay people as leaders.
- 43% say they are trying to figure out their purpose, meaning in life.
- 36% contend that it is impossible to get ahead because of their financial debt.
- 33% maintain pornography is a matter of taste.
- 32% hold the perspective that lying is sometimes necessary.
- 82% of adults think that "every person has the power to determine his or her own destiny in life," a belief the report says is one of the "guiding principles" of the New Age movement.
What can we suppose about the reasons that people have for their belief systems? Can the skeptics claims be true?
Atheists have determined that faith is simply belief without evidence. Skeptics claim that what Christians believe has very little to do with reason - since beliefs can be wrong, belief is potentially dangerous– they "are generated by the belief engine without any automatic concern for truth."
Link: http://www.csicop.org/si/9505/belief.html
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